Wargaming Websites

Google+ Badge

Linking to my blog? Use this button!

Monday, January 28, 2013

OSR, Phase II

There is, of course, no singular event that one can point to and say, “The OSR started here.” Certainly it was a product of a particular time within the gaming hobby, wherein a number of circumstances combined to make the OSR possible. D&D 3.5 was petering out and 4th edition was received to blasé reviews or outright hostility. The OGL allowed games such as Castles & Crusades (2004) and OSRIC (2006), and later Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, MicroliteXX, etc. to come about, and desktop publishing and the increasingly sophisticated abilities of on-demand publishing made it possible for individuals or a handful of people to put out really incredible products for little or no cash up front.

However, one thing I've noticed in the last year or so is that the level of philosophical analysis has decreased dramatically both on the blogs and message boards, in favor of an enormous wave of practical application. There are far fewer fundamental questions being discussed and older editions of D&D being evaluated, and many more reviews of new products, analysis of older non-D&D games, organization of face-to-face and virtual events, and the like. This, I think, is the transition between the first phase of the OSR to the second.

That’s not to say, obviously, that nothing of practical use has come out of the OSR in the last four or five years; far from it. But while the first phase of the OSR has seen foundational works such as those mentioned above, what we are now seeing in the OSR is a flowering of material that take off in wild new directions. Now that the final holes in the retro-clone coverage have been filled (the basic game-play of (A)D&D 0E, 1E, and now 2E are covered by multiple products), the OSR as a whole seems self-confident enough to break off in new directions.

Now, of course, we live in a hobby/industry where Wizards of the Coast has seemingly embraced older products in their back catalog, making them available in pdf format or in distribution-chain reprints. Old TSR stalwarts are publishing newand exciting material with their many decades of experience to guide them. So the landscape is once more changing. But in that change I see really good times ahead. The OSR has done its soul-searching, we've figured out what we are and what we like, and we’re settling down to the business of doing it. “Mainstream” gaming has caught up to us, and for a short while at least, we’re driving the bus. Let’s not hesitate to be bold and confident, and take things in exciting new directions.

As Gary Gygax said, “One more thing: don’t spend too much time merely reading. The best part of this work is the play, so play and enjoy!”

You talk about envelope pushing but I'm not sure it's such a good thing that you see so many new products, LotFP, Carcosa, DCC, AS&SoH, etc, etc that are taking the base D&D game an limiting it down to one specific type of game. So instead of just having one "weird" adventure, you play a game where it's all weird all the time. Or all Cthulhu all the time.

LL seems to be the only game that is expanding (with Mutant Future being B/X+mutants or Starships & Spacemen) rather than contracting.

I hope that everybody hasn't lost interest in philosophical discussion, since that's most of what I do! Seriously, though, it does seem true that the 'mindset' of the OSR has been firmly entrenched, so now most people are... playing their games. Writing up the stuff they need and sharing it. Taking flight from D&D to create ever-more divergent rulesets. All good stuff.

I think you're right, Joe. There's also a related thing going on in the mainstream RPG world, which is recognition of old school play and adoption of material that the "OSR" is producing. The Swords & Wizardry Kickstarter was more than $75,000 raised, and most Pathfinder players have heard of S&W through the Frog God connection. WotC's re-publication of older materials was something we considered a straight-up pipe dream in 2005. Not only is our focus shifting to play and resources, but there are also sea-changes taking place in the wider RPG community that have to do with old-school play. It's a good time to be gaming it old-school. :)

What are the multiple retro-clones that are covering AD&D 2E? The only one I can think of is Myth & Magic, and that seems to have drifted away from trying to be a "pure" retro-clone. (I suppose also For Gold & Glory, presuming I got the name right, but that seems to have disappeared.)

Nice post. I've been a reader of the OSR blog scene since 2008, and I agree with your assessment -- philosophical / historical musings to more hands-on / hobbyist musings. Yeah, some of the latter is obviously about the commodification of the OSR. Your Phase 2 definitely has more of that. But the open source, wild&wooly mentality appears is still going strong.

East Coast OSR Convention

A Note on Legalities

Note: Many of the names used herein are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., Gygax Games, Troll Lord Games, Pied Piper Publishing, etc. The use herein is quite unauthorized and should not be construed to challenge their ownership of said trademarks or intellectual property in any way. This work is presented in the spirit of “fan fiction”. Some work is published under the Open Gaming License, as indicated.

I'm just a guy writing about the games and the settings and movies and other stuff that he loves.

More precisely, this Web site is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored, or specifically approved by Wizards of the Coast LLC. This Web site may use the trademarks and other intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast LLC, which is permitted under Wizards' Fan Site Policy. For example, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, D&D®, WORLD OF GREYHAWK® are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast and D&D® core rules, game mechanics, characters and their distinctive likenesses are the property of the Wizards of the Coast. For more information about Wizards of the Coast or any of Wizards' trademarks or other intellectual property, please visit their website at www.wizards.com.

BRW Games™, Olde School Role Playing Games™, Castle of the Mad Archmage™, Glitterdark™, The World of Erseta Fantasy Setting™, Adventures Dark and Deep™ and Adventures Great and Glorious™ are all trademarks of BRW Games, LLC.

Some links might be part of an affiliate program (RPGNow, Amazon, etc.), which could be worth a few c.p. to me. My beer fund thanks you.

Comments are moderated. Any and all comments may be deleted at will. OSR-bashing fanbois, this means you. Anonymous comments will, as a rule, not be approved; come to have a real conversation or go away, cowards.